Author's Note:
I bought Injustice: Gods Among Us at a Steam® sale about a couple of years or so ago and I, especially when playing as Aquaman and The Flash, enjoyed it quite a lot. However, let's talk about the story; I'm usually not a big fan of anything to do with Warner Bros and their writing of the world's greatest superheroes but I'm digressing...
So, the story, which when you just take it as it at first glance I thought portrayed a lot of the main characters waaay warped and out of character. But on deeper thought, when you try to understand why they (Superman especially) acted like they did in the game's continuity…suddenly it's not black and white anymore and I as a Superman fan (come at me, bro) do find myself sympathising with some of his actions even for a little bit. It got me wondering and hence this short story was inspired by one or two cutscenes from the game's narrative. It's been shelved for a while so I just decided to post it. It should be completed not before I post another chapter (very soon) on my other, longer story, regarding which I apologise for for leaving dormant for almost a year now.
PLOT SUMMARY: Clark arrives on One Earth and he's the first to make contact with Regime Superman and Regime Wonder Woman, leading to huge repercussions for both his Earth and One Earth.
This is my own take on the game's storyline with a generous amount of liberties taken. Please feel free to criticise or point out any typos, also feel free to hit up the DC Wikia for a crash course on the game's plot if you're not familiar with it.
Injustice: Gods Among Us and all associated characters is property of Warner Bros. and DC Comics.
"INSERT LEX LUTHOR QUOTE ABOUT PARALLEL UNIVERSES HERE"
Stay With Me
Unfamiliar and totalitarian. That was what Clark Kent: Superman saw and thought as he flew around the city where he knew Metropolis was supposed to be. This was the city he loved, the city he protected, he knew as much when he spotted the globe of The Daily Planet spinning atop a monolith.
It looked to be an alternate reality, he thought, a future version of Metropolis. He was fairly certain of it too, as the existence of alternate universes were not foreign concepts to him. The problem was though that his perfect memory can't remember how he got here. He remembered being sent back to the future a few years ago when Toyman zapped him. Now though, the last thing he remembered doing this time around was drinking coffee, and now all of a sudden he's here.
Looking around, Metropolis seemed to be about a few decades advanced; he noted that the cars looked like the ones in 80s time travel movies. If he had time, he could take a sample from the old tree at the park and carbon date it, but things seemed a bit too pressing to call in a favour from the museum lab.
Anyway, he can just simplify things by picking up a newspaper but he couldn't find a single stand anywhere. Speaking of things he couldn't find, he noticed that there was barely anybody out. He scanned further until he saw a massive gathering of people a few blocks away, like a rally or something.
Clean air entered his lungs as he flew over the crowd of people gathered around a large pavilion. He meant to stay concealed, but the cameras instantly tracked upon his presence. Gasps along with whispering murmurs rolled around the crowd as his image came into the large screen up front. He saw all the faces turn white at the proud gold and red crest of his family emblazoned on his blue uniform as he came into focus.
He floated down to the stage area up front. Black-clad guards with guns were there to greet him,
Remembering his manners, Clark greeted the man in charge, "Good afternoon…" he read his ID through his Kevlar vest "…Captain James."
The one in charge looked surprised at the Kryptonian's appearance but saluted him nonetheless. "High Councillor, you're most welcome. We apologise but we weren't expecting you today, sir."
"Okay…?" Clark furrowed an eyebrow as he looked questioningly at the captain, "Can you tell me what this is all for?" he asked as he pointed to the crowd with his eyes.
"I can brief you on the situation. Come right this way, sir." James gestured for Clark to walk alongside, "As of a few hours ago, there have been a few incidents of misdemeanour around this area lately." Clark's ears perked up, expecting the officer to explain some connection to a known figure from his rogues' gallery. "You'll be pleased to know that we've caught the perpetrators in question and we'll be presenting them to the public today." the captain finished.
Potential figures of crime ran through his mind, Metropolis is a great city but it had its fair share of maniacs. Some things never change, he assumed.
"Who are they? They didn't harm anyone, did they?" he asked, very much interested in what the captain had to say. Maybe he could question some of these guys to prevent any crimes happening in his universe.
"Just some nobodies but rotten apples nonetheless." the captain said. "We apprehended them without any trouble."
"Oh." Clark replied, somewhat feeling the effects of a mild anti-climax, "Is this some sort of a community service thing?" he asked, not quite understanding the scope of the charges against them.
That got a chuckle out of Captain James, causing Superman to raise an eyebrow at him. The captain cleared his throat, "No, sir. They're being brought here to be used as an example against this sort of behaviour in the future."
"I don't get it. What exactly did they do?"
The captain readied his breath. "They're guilty of demonstrating, sir."
Now Clark really didn't get it. "Demonstrating? Were they violent?" he tried to clarify.
"Fortunately no, we quelled their protest before they had any chance of causing any more dissent."
"So, these people you speak of demonstrated…how?"
"The usual, vocal display sort of demonstration, sir. Right outside in front of the government building."
"Is that all?" Clark asked incredulously
"Camera feeds proved everything, sir. This is a Class 1A offence under the latest revised One Earth constitution." James sounded like a sci-fi soldier as he spoke to Clark through his helmet radio.
"1-A?" Clark repeated, thoroughly confused.
"Yes, sir. Punishable by capital punishment or long term incarceration in discretion of the local authority, if I recall correctly." James stated.
"Capital punishment?!" Clark blurted.
The captain started sweating, "Yes, High Councillor. Unless you want to override the ruling I've decided on."
What kind of constitution must Metropolis have to be capitally punishing citizens for protesting? Clark wondered as he thought on his feet. "Ruling overruled." he quickly said. "I want to see these people, if that's alright."
"Right this way, sir." James obeyed as he led Clark into a containment cell. He imagined a bunch of people being disgruntled and uncooperative. But inside were only two very skinny teenager types, a girl and a boy who looked like they were siblings. They must've been no older than twenty. They were blindfolded and their hands were cuffed behind them and among their body he could see were fresh-looking cuts and bruises.
He remembered taking part in a student rally back when he was twenty and the authorities didn't do anything to him. Obviously things were a bit more complicated once he revealed his alien self to the public but freedom of speech was a right he took for granted.
"Just the two of them?" Clark remarked. "What kind of trouble might they have caused?"
The two teenagers shivered upon hearing his voice.
"We do not give anyone the benefit of the doubt, sir."
"Can we take the blindfolds and the cuffs off?" Clark asked, instantly a trooper went round and unbound the two.
The two adolescents opened their eyes to the dazzle caused by the bright ceiling light, only to see the High Councillor himself.
"Leave us, please." Clark said to the guards. They obeyed. He looked concernedly at the two kids, "Are you two alright?"
They practically cowered in fear when looked at directly by who used to be the Man of Steel, but was known colloquially now as the Man of the Iron Fist. The girl grasped the boy's hand and they both held on for dear life itself.
Clark's concern multiplied tenfold. "Hey, hey," he tried to ease them gently. "I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to talk."
Clark's voice was calm and beseeching, or at least he hoped so. His low tenor just made the two teens even more nervous. Clark didn't know what else to do but he tried anyway. He sat down next to the two teens, he crouched until he was head level with them. He said, with that endearing farm-boy smile and unreal sky blue eyes of his, "I promise I won't do anything. Superman always keeps his promises."
The girl relaxed enough to gather her nerves and bravado, "Lucy." she told him. She looked over to her brother, "This is Tom."
Clark held his hand out as if in an interview, but still with his farm-boy smile he said, "Pleased to meet you both. My name is Superman. Or Kal-El. Call me whichever you please."
Lucy gulped. She'd only seen this man this close on TV, and even the 8K, 240Hz full colour displays of their time weren't enough to capture his domineering presence when encountered in the flesh. It made one want to trust him, to loosen even, and at a push; submit.
"Can you guys tell me why you're in trouble?" Clark asked.
The two didn't answer, but Clark waited patiently. He tried to ease the tension, "One day, The Manhunter caught The Flash nabbing his cookies, but Flash never wanted to admit it…"
The two didn't respond to his levity, so Clark continued with nonchalance, "…pinned it on me too! Manhunter tried to read his mind but his brain moved too quick, so we had to ask Wonder-"
"We're sorry, Superman. We didn't mean to cause so much trouble." Tom blurted.
"Hey, it's not a problem. I just want to get to the bottom of this." Clark interjected, his tone more level now. The two of them shivered in a synchronised tremor, but Clark quickly reassured them, "But go on. I want to listen, not judge."
"It just felt like no one was listening to us or willing to help us. We tried everything we could but we kept getting nowhere." explained Lucy, the two looking at the floor. Clark could hear their hearts beating as fast as they could.
Superman sounded concerned, "Can you tell me what was wrong?"
"We live in a foster home." answered Lucy. "We just wanted to know why."
Clark asked as sensitively as he could. "Are your foster parents taking good care of you?"
It took a while but Lucy answered, "Yes."
"Hmm. One moment, guys."
Clark thought about what he just heard and saw. He approached the captain to ask for information about their circumstances. It'd turned out that social services had put them in a youth hostel because their parents haven't been there to care for them since they were 13. It seemed like their parents suddenly disappeared and the state had to intervene.
Clark had seen these type of cases before, both in his work as Clark Kent and sometimes when he attended charity events for the Wayne Foundation or the Themysciran Embassy in either one of his personas.
He decided to dig up some more background information and learnt that the hostel Lucy and Tom were in was state-run and regulated, and the youths admitted there were well cared for by the federal government.
Clark wondered. They were well cared for, but that obviously didn't substitute for any answers they wanted to seek. He could relate to that, he once felt the same when he realised that Martha and Jonathan couldn't possibly be his genetic parents.
He sympathised with Tom and Lucy, they were young and they were lacking their mother and father. Whereas he had Martha and Jonathan growing up, he felt that loneliness often when he thought about Lara and Jor-El. He too sometimes felt the desire to rebel out of his isolation. But his answers came anyway when his dad showed him the crystal that was the key to his past.
These kids were bereft of the love only their parents could give; that much he could understand. But it still wasn't clear to him why there was no information available to them, and why it got them into so much trouble.
He thanked the captain, who gave him another salute. The men kept referring to him as the High Councillor, which disturbed him greatly. He was never one to lord his authority, and this city…there must be something more to it than simply being a future version Metropolis.
He knew the dangers of interfering with the events of a parallel timeline. But at the same time, he wanted to get to all the bottom of this; why were they calling him as the 'High Councillor'? Why are the laws so strict? If this was a possible future event in his own timeline, maybe he could learn a few things before trying to find some way back. After all, the future is only written by the present and not by itself.
He returned to the two, "I've read your case file but there are some things I'd like for you tell me. Can you tell me about your parents?" he asked sensitively. They stiffened, but once more Clark waited patiently.
"They're not here." Lucy finally answered, still not bringing her eyes up to look at the High Councillor.
"Do you know where they are?" Clark asked with a concerned tone. The file on these two mentioned that their parents were gone, but it didn't say specifically why.
"We were told that they were in re-education."
That word shocked Clark. "What for?"
Tom's nervousness permeated his answer, "Protesting against the government." he blurted. The two were expecting the full wrath of the High Councillor. Such an egregious offence committed by their parents would only lead to reprimand.
"I'm sorry about that," he said softly. The two actually blinked at him. Their identical brown eyes flashed perplexingly before turning away. Clark could sense their fear, he'd worked for years to show people that they didn't need to be scared of him. The list of questions in his head grew.
"Is there anything else you could tell me about them?"
Lucy took a deep breath, "They're in prison." she whispered, wondering why he would ask such a thing if he was the one that laid down these laws in the first place.
"How long for?" he pressed sensitively.
"For life."
Clark's face contorted in pain for them. Not only where the laws draconian here, it seemed that freedom of speech was a bygone too. Clark, in his day job at the Planet protested against government decisions whenever the situation called for it and people paid to read what he had to say. He was a very good analyst, so he was told, because he didn't pay any mind to whose toes he might step on.
"You two must've known the consequences of protesting against the government when you did so." He surmised.
Both their hearts skipped a beat, and Clark could hear their twin heartbeats thudding in their chests. Lucy simply nodded at him as she mumbled "Yes sir", too ashamed to look him in the eye.
A Class 1A offence. Punishable by life incarceration or death. If they knew the consequences of shoplifting in this world, then why would they do it? What would getting yourself killed grant you? Suicidal tendencies out of depression perhaps? Clark mulled over it, thinking that they must have an ultimate motive for committing what was inherently a severe crime.
In this world, voicing against the government will land you in prison. Why the hell would they want to follow in their parents' footsteps?
The circumstances clicked in his head.
Maybe these two wanted to see their parents. They committed the crime in the dire hope that they would be sent to the same prison and see their parents again. Clark's heart broke for them. They had to risk death and accept imprisonment just for a slim chance of seeing their loved ones. Whatever society he was in, it was not what Superman would stand for.
He blurred and went looking for the captain. "Captain James?"
"Sir?" he was typing on a computer as he turned round to face Clark. "I assume you want to switch the sentences for those two to Procedure B?" James asked presumably.
Clark thought about what he was going to say next. He had already made up his mind, but he was contemplating the consequences. He was going to use his position to interfere in another universe, but at the same time he'll never be able to look himself in the eye ever again if he let those two kids die.
"No," Clark answered tersely.
"Understood, I'll have them executed by the hour." said the captain, thinking the High Councillor would do publicly what he did so many times before.
"No!" Clark's spine shuddered at the thought of Lucy and Tom being summarily executed in public. It sickened him that Metropolis and society had devolved into such a state. What was the League of this universe doing?
Superman said in a tone that discouraged any dispute, "No, Captain James. You are going to let those two free."
The Captain looked at the High Councillor as if he'd grown two heads. "Are you sure, sir?" he reacted.
"You heard me, Captain. And I want their parents released from the prison they're in." Clark said with a straight, determined face, his blood curdling as he wondered how many times this Captain James had executed people before.
Three heads. "As you wish, Councillor." the captain hastily obeyed. No one second-guessed the High Councillor's orders and he was lucky he didn't get burnt on the spot when he'd done so a second ago.
Clark let out a breath of relief when the captain went into another room. Giving orders or being followed was not something he enjoyed. He tried to lead by example. When chairing League matters he made sure that all decisions were democratic, much to the chagrin of the likes of Bruce, who believed that the Bat-way of doing things was the best way regardless; and Arthur, who as a monarch was used to commanding, ordering and having his word taken as law.
Well, the thing was that Clark was not any of them. As far as he was concerned he was just in the League because he knew that even a Superman cannot do it alone, being unanimously elected as the de-facto C.O. was only just an attachment to what his real purpose was.
As powerful as she was compared to him, sometimes even Diana would urge him to be more assertive. But he would steadfastly reinforce his stance in that he was only one voice in a League of many. Autocracy was definitely not his thing. Superman was just an example, a symbol, an ideal. Not the head on top of people's backs. Clark was sure that nothing in the foreseeable future could've changed that.
Captain James came back with a retina scanner. "Sir, we're just going to need your authorisation and the pardons will be validated. Stryker's should get the executive order within minutes." he informed.
Clark let the contraption scan his irises as he and James signed off on the pardons. "All done, High Councillor. The family's records have been erased."
Clark thanked the captain cordially as he went back to check on Lucy and Tom.
"Do you guys know how to get home from here?"
"Yes sir." they answered meekly.
"Good. You're free to go, guys." Clark smiled warmly at them, "And I'm sure there will be two people who'll be waiting for you."
Lucy and Tom's shock turned into gratitude as their eyes brightened. They bade their thanks to Superman as they left. Superman's heart warmed, he loved doing what he did. Seeing the smiles on the two's faces was worth all the effort.
But his happiness faded just as quickly as it had flared up. This world, he's been here barely any time at all and he could see everything was already wrong.
Firstly, they acknowledged him as the High Councillor, which meant in the least that his counterpart definitely existed, as well as held power and authority here. Superman was a figure that held and wielded power, but he would never have anyone obey his word if there was a choice. What troubled him the most, though, is how this world's Superman could allow this society to exist.
In dire need of answers, Superman flew north to his Fortress. He knew it would be there. Getting home can wait. He will not let this madness continue if he could do anything to help it.
